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Where Jeb Bush Supporters Should Go, and Why

It’s funny to me that the prompt on Facebook for posting says, “What’s on your mind?”

Of course, what’s on my mind and everyone else’s these days is our presidential election. It’s become even more on my mind since Saturday night when the inevitable, in this year of little substance and mostly showtime, happened and our friend Jeb Bush dropped out of the race.

I grieve that our country lost the chance to see his leadership, his honor, his integrity, and his compassion in our White House. I truly believe he sees the greatness that still is America. Which remaining candidate does?

We do not need to make America great again, it remains great. Sure, it has flaws and we have suffered from the lack of leadership from both Congress and the White House on issues that matter to the people. We have big problems needing solutions, and what we see from candidates on both sides are hyperbole and empty promises, absent concrete paths to improve where we stand domestically and internationally.

Bluster and word stews do not solve anything. We must turn our backs on those who have the real goals of tearing down our country, not improving it. You can see it in the posts of those who support candidates without cause, a desire to turn Washington upside down. We do not need to burn down the house we live in, we need to upgrade and remodel it, placing it on the right track for the future of our children and their children.

Like many, I have hope others would see what we know about Jeb. I believe if his name were Jeb Moore, with his record of accomplishments, he would have been treated better in this process. For now, we live in a land of make-believe, hoping someone will wave a magic wand, and all will be right with the world. That is what happened in the 2008 election; people bought into “hope and change.” They still seek hope and change and are headed again to Disappointmentville.

So what to do now? Hundreds of my friends who had been working for Jeb are asking this of themselves. Most are taking their time, going through a period of political mourning. Others have been quick to jump aboard with another, hoping not to miss the train by pausing for just a moment in time. I prefer to pause a bit myself, but with the clock running fast towards March 1 there isn’t much time to dally.

I do not amuse or abuse myself by thinking that my opinion will sway anyone to a candidate or cause. Does anyone ever change their minds from what someone writes? I do have hope that we all add ingredients to the thoughtful stewpot as we simmer within, deciding our own directions.

So here is where I stand, after several days of thinking about little else. Our collective task, to save both the Republican Party and our country, is to do everything we can to derail Donald Trump. He is like a creature from mythology who seems to be able to reflect the worst within us all, not our best. We do not make our country great by demeaning and mocking others, nor by making a mockery of our values as citizens of, what Ronald Reagan described as, the one best hope for mankind.

So Floridians, I encourage you to support Marco Rubio. From a Floridian’s perspective, he is the best chance to derail the biggest loser, while offering the most positive possibilities for governance. I know Marco pretty well. I shared a suite with him years ago; our offices were very close. I saw him hard at work building a leadership team, putting in long hours. During that time I worked about 70 hours a week on policy issues and Marco was often in the office very late, although he did take time to go home many evenings to spend time with his young family, only to come back to work after his children went to bed. He has grown much since then.

I do not fault him for his efforts on immigration, as many have done. He sees a problem that must be solved and was willing to work to find possible solutions. This should be encouraged, not suppressed. Difficult policy issues are vexing, not easily solved. Those who would cloak themselves in the mantle of Reagan should actually go back and study his terms as both governor and president. He did not shy from engagement with his opposition; he relished it. He used powers of persuasion and a firm belief in our country to move those who opposed him closer to his point of view. That’s what leaders do.

We do not live in a “my way or the highway” society. Frankly, this, in large part is why we are in a deadlocked situation now in D.C.; but instead of fixing this we choose to support those who want to destroy the very things we long to regain. Our options have narrowed greatly since there were 17 people on that stage. Some very decent people have been cast aside, but to my concern, one remains who I do not think is a very decent person.

We have an imperative to make sure that we do not go down the Trump tracks, as those tracks lead to a place we never want to be. Marco Rubio has the ability to place us on the right track. He is not perfect; none of us are. Frankly, there are some higher education positions he has embraced, that I think are just wrong. I’ll argue with him later about those. In his career he has dared to be great and he has gone against conventional wisdom and come out on top. We need to support our own Floridian in this critical moment in history. The stakes are just too high to do otherwise.

Dr. Ed H. Moore is president of the The Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida in Tallahassee. Column courtesy of Context Florida.

Comments

Permalink Submitted by Former AIr Forc... on February 25, 2016 - 8:02am

Rubio is just anouther one term US Senator, who seldom attended session/voted - as did the man with no past - obama. Rubio requires additional OJT, and is somewhat of a robot, and too suseptible to the out-fo-touch national Republican Party line.
Like it or not, it's going to be Trump vs. Hillary.
A continuation of the dumbing down of American leadership.
Go figure!

Oh, yawn, did Jeb drop out of the race? I must have missed that announcement (scratching the sleep from my eyes) while I fell asleep to his boring voice his boring face, his boring life. Yawn, Someone nudge me after Trump grabs the nomination.

Permalink Submitted by George, the une... on February 24, 2016 - 7:18pm

Trump scares me. He has no credible solutions to offer. He has no experience in foreign affairs or leadership without bullying. That won't fare well in the world conflicts we face today. In fact, it's dangerous. From the first debate, I was struck by his statements that centered on HIM, not the the important office of the Presidency and its duties. If you don't believe me, go back and listen to them real closely. Yes, he says a lot of things that a conservative like me wishes someone would say. But his knee jerk responses and claims on important issues are truly not thought out and without real solutions. Trump has a remarkable ability to speak "one liners" like the great comedians of our time that entertain even me.
But who is he really?
He says his business decision were always legal, although brutal. Here is what I know personally about Trump's business dealings. My small firm worked for him at his Palm Beach Mara Largo mansion. I had a contract for a fixed fee. He paid me $8k less, paying what he wanted. Of course I could have sued him, but with his cadre of attorneys, I chose not to....., just as he expected. It WAS LEGAL because he didn't break a law that I could prove without spending more $ than I would gain. Of course, I was not dealing directly with him, but he sets the standards in his companies, as I do in mine. That is not what I am looking for in a President.
I'm looking for an ethical leader that has the goal of following the Constitution to its fullest and protecting even the smallest citizen's rights. Is it Marco? Maybe. No doubt in my mind, he is a better candidate than Trump. Jeb was my favorite. Unfortunately, he wasn't an orator that faired well in the public's eye. As in so many elections of the past, we are faced with sellecting the best of the last candidates standing.

That's called "confidence, business acumen, success, 'playing-your-cards-close-to-the-vest' and YEARS of +profit-margin. Obama came with nothing...and left us with nothing but "hope-less, socialist change". TRUMP will be a "breath of fresh air" to America: a vastly successful person who knows how to lead AND delegate without "bringing the house down" and also how to negotiate to the advantage of the company (in THIS case, AMERICA !)... signed// A Democrat who actually cares about America more than himself !

i see no other choice. Jeb was my candidate. I knew him from his campaigns and his superb service as Florida's two term Governor. I do not know
Marco Rubio at all although I voted for him when he was elected to the Senate. Trump is completely bad news and Cruz is a very talented lawyer but is not liked at all by his fellow senators. So Marco is the only decent choice left who can beat Hillary. Trump has become very rich by shafting people who funded the several businesses that he took into bankruptcy. And he could hardly have been in a more sleazy business than casinos.

Where's the logic in your comment? Cruz is "talented" but not liked by his fellow senators. So Marco, who is also NOT liked by many senators & Florida voters, will get your vote?
Casinos are legitimate businesses, just ask those politicians in Tallahassee who continue to support all kinds of gambling and lotto games. Rubio continues to let 'his' state down based upon his many, many absences from the job he was elected to do. As a Republican voter who is tired of the same old games being played by the Republican 'in crowd', I'll vote for Trump and see what he can do for our country. Certainly he could do no worse than any of the former Bush presidents, and so much better than Jeb who is a nice guy to speak with but not a very good or reliable politician. Glad he's gone, and I hope, after the Super Tuesday elections, Rubio will be hitting the trail as well.
GO TRUMP!

Wow. I read these responses and see nothing but vitriol and spite and it all becomes so clear why Trump is winning. It is said "the people get the government they deserve". Which is a shame because some deserve better. After 8 years of waiting for the promised "hope and change", apparently people are still willing to believe in a candidate who is talking constantly but saying nothing.
So THE PEOPLE have chosen two potential nominees: One, a businessman who offers a lot of style, but no substance in addition to nasty comments, ridicule of the disabled and an abundance of arrogance. And two, a candidate who is currently under investigation by the FBI not to mention years of other investigations and everyone wants to blame Congress for the country's ills??? Who elected Congress? Oh yeah, THE PEOPLE.

Lizzy, you need to get a grip on reality. We are ALL hopeful that there will be a decent President elected. While I may support one person and others support another, makes no difference as long as we all hop onto the same page come November.
I believe Trump can, and will do a much better job than what's in the White House now, and certainly much better than Rubio could ever hope to do. Heck, he's already failed as a senator, so you want to allow him to screw the country even more?
GO TRUMP!

It grieves me Mr. Moore that "educated idiot" elitists, such as yourself, "flash" your academic credentials under your cute goatee, like we're all supposed to be impressed with your supposedly educated opinion: Well, we're not. Good riddance to "Momma's boy" JEB, the candidate with the "bobblehead" (like my car's rear window ornament). Then you posit the suggestion we should all vote for Marco Polio, the 'liar candidate'. My bet is that you're so frustrated that you tell friends you're so disgusted that you're thinking of voting for Hillary. You're a "type" Mr. Moore,...an academic elitist who subconsiously believes he is well worth listening to... You may "snow" the kiddees on a daily basis, but all we see is a pontificating someone in need of a "shave and a haircut, knock, knock !"
signed// a thinking & reasoning Democrat voting for TRUMP !

Thank you, Dr. Moore for your wise words. I was very sad to see Jeb go, but he did it for the Republican Party. If the remaining candidates(minus Trump) do not sacrifice themselves and support the candidate w/ the best chance of defeating Trump, the Republican party will be destroyed, Trump will do it single-handed.

And this comment is another example of why the Republican Party is in trouble. They seem to care less about what we,the people prefer, but more so in , what's in it for me! These attacks on Republican candidates BY other Republicans need to stop. Our country is sick and tired of seeing and hearing about all the dirty laundry candidates may have.
Grow up and run for the office without sacrificing our party!

Your comments, Mr. Moore, are close to laughable, especially how you write "I grieve that our country lost the chance to see his leadership, his honor, his integrity, and his compassion". Please, do NOT grieve! In fact, the State of Florida SUFFERED through Jeb's time in office, and, thankfully, the rest of the country where they've already gone to the polls, has listened to the majority here and did NOT vote for Jeb. Hopefully, they won't either consider Mr. Rubio, since has nothing but a lack of experience in both the political world AND the business world! We ALL know this by Mr. Rubio's chronic absenteeism from Capitol Hill, where he might have gained some political experience, had he attended more sessions. Alas, he's become just another politician who prefers to suck on the public's governmental teat instead of truly EARNING his way through life. Both he and Mr. Bush failed Florida miserabley and they continue to fail as they 'hope' to 'change' the minds of everyone to vote FOR them. NO WAY can I, or should I, my family, and Florida's families accept people whose only way of life was living off the taxpayers. It is time for both of these fellows to seek true, and honest employment so that they may one day regain the respect from voters they once had had! Again, please don't grieve and instead CELEBRATE!

We do not need to make America great again, it remains great. Where have you been the last 20 years Ed Moore? We are spending so much that we are now over 19 Trillion Dollars in Debt, Over $200 Billion dollars interest due every year, the people are divided, BLM protesters claim only their lives matter, politically correct violates our 1st amendment, our 2nd amendment constantly being invaded and then we have unsecure borders with 11+ million illegal aliens we don't even know their names in America, crime out of control, police being attacked, $2.8 Trillion dollar IOU that elected officials have no way to repay along with fraud on Social Security and medicare and you think all is okay on the home front. PH.D Idiot! Book smart brain dead.

Fire - So what is your solution? More of the Tickle down voodoo economics? Politically correct? How about respect for others. If we do that they be no need for PC. You seem to have a 2nd amendment fetish like all right wingers do. Protect the 4th because if we lose the 4th, the 2nd won't matter. BTW - Don't blame the black man in the WH for the Debt. How about blaming the last puppet GWB for taking us to war on a Credit Card and a Lie. Did you forget that or do you like all other rightwingers seem to have collectively forget that. Right Wingers say the Left want people to depend on Gov't. Not The Right I say want things for free, i.e. not wanting to pay for infrastructure they so depend on to make their money. What we need in common sense ideas not more of the same old St. Raygun thoughts.

You are in denial, just like the main stream media. You will say and do everything you can to knock Trump down. The more you try the more he becomes inevitable. Rubio is a talking points fake and much worse. He is exactly what this country does not need. I can't wait to hear you back Bernie Sanders over Trum . You sir are pathetic.

Dr Moore, you misunderstand, Trump is now the center of YOUR party whether you like it or not. The yrs of pandering to the extreme right has given you the party you deserve.-------------------------
If you want a true fiscal conservative and one to take the US back to where it was great, the economy, everyone does best, Vote for Hillary, Dems.--------------------------------- The stakes are too high to do otherwise------------------------
What part of Bush's and repub party tax, regulation, energy, war, economics that 2000-2008 proved was fiscally and morally bankrupt? And why are you still backing such proven drivel that nearly bankrupted our country until Obama saved our butts?

The Florida GOP had a chance and blew it by dealing with the Tea Party. My choice for the best of the worst is Hillary Clinton. The carnage otherwise is in no one's interest - especially the interest of our kids.

Jeb should have run for the Senate seat that Rubio won and we would not even be having this discussion......
Jeb needs to run for Senate, be in the spotlight, and then try again when the opportunity arises.
Jeb did not make it because of his brother's Presidency.....right or wrong that's why he did so poorly...not him but the anchor around his neck from his older brother.....he got screwed.

I agree that I will never vote for this faker who would rather collect and spend the taxpayer's dollars instead of actually working for pay! I also cannot accept a guy like him attempting to tell us how things are and should be, especially since he's been only close to here, but not actually here.

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